Fish River Station rangers at CDU Casuarina campus. From left: Stewart Brooks and Chris Miler

Fish River Station rangers sharpen skills at CDU

By Katie Weiss

Charles Darwin University’s horticulture team is providing skills development to Indigenous rangers who protect the Fish River Station conservation area in the Douglas Daly region.

The team recently delivered rural operations units to rangers at Casuarina campus and at Fish River Station, which is home to about 60 plants and animals believed to be new to science and 21 threatened species.

Participant Stewart Brooks said he gained skills including biodiversity management, weed and feral animal management, and methods for planting trees and shrubs.

Mr Brooks said the course would assist the group to establish an edible garden to reduce their carbon footprint by limiting rangers’ trips into town.

“The work has been hard but very good,” Mr Brooks said. “Fish River Station is beautiful country.”

Horticulture lecturer Robyn Wing said the rural operations course also aimed to assist rangers in land monitoring and the management of gamba grass, mimosa and other invasive weeds.

Fish River Station is about 150 km south of Darwin and was bought through a partnership between the Australian Government, the Indigenous Land Corporation, The Nature Conservancy and Pew Environment Group.